Tooth Extractions

At South Valley Oral and Facial Surgery, we take your dental health very seriously. When you have a tooth that needs to be extracted we have the skill and expertise to make sure it happens safely and with your comfort in mind. Further, when you lose a tooth we have a variety of different tooth replacement options available to give you back the form and function that your mouth needs to stay healthy long into the future.

Reasons For Extractions

There are many reasons that teeth end up needing to be extracted. The top of that list is damage to a tooth because of decay or trauma, and tooth impaction. Everyone forgets to brush and floss every now and then, when you forget for too long there can be some nasty consequences. If a tooth reaches the point that we can’t save it with a crown or a root canal, we will often opt to extract it. Similarly, when a tooth suffers traumatic injury in a sporting event or other accident, sometimes we can save it – sometimes it will need to be extracted.

It is likely that most people will have to have a tooth extracted due to impaction, often because of wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth often come in at strange angles, where they collide with other teeth. Often there isn’t enough room in the mouth for wisdom teeth. Wisdom tooth extraction is extremely common.

What to do in Case of Trauma

If you experience trauma to a tooth there are a few things you can to aid us in repairing it. First, find the tooth or piece of the tooth and retrieve it by the crown (biting portion), being careful not to touch the broken end. Rinse it in water to remove dust or particulate matter. Call us at San Jose - (408) 479-9449 Gilroy - (408) 479-8788 and let us know that you have a dental emergency and will be coming in shortly. To transport the tooth, you have a few options. If possible, place the tooth back into the spot that it came out of. If you can’t replace it, you can put it between your lip and gum, or in a container of milk (never water).

The Process of Tooth Extraction

When it’s time to extract your tooth the first step in the process will be to numb the site and ensure your comfort. We take great care to make sure that you are comfortable and feel at ease during all procedures in our office, so if there is anything that we can do for you, let us know. Once the site has been numbed we can begin the process of extracting the tooth.

There are two different kinds of tooth extractions – simple and surgical. Both are fairly straightforward procedures but surgical procedures are a little bit more in depth and may require the use of additional anesthesia.

Once the tooth has been removed we will give you in-depth instructions on how to care for your mouth while it recovers. It is important to consider a tooth replacement optio0n such as a dental implant or a bridge whenever you lose a tooth.